Who are the Handicap Managers & who are the genuine players?

Re: Who are the Handicap Managers & who are the genuine play

I used to play off 2.6 when I was at college and played nearly every day. The reason I am 7.0 now is I took 7-8 years virtually out of the game playing 1-2 times a year when work, the woman and booze was incorrectly more important!

As part of playing for Sheffield College our coach was the local PGA professional.....Mark Roe. He was a great coach for the short game and ball striking, but for me what was surprising for such a hot headed golfer, he was a great mental coach. He always offered one liners or posed questions that when you answered to yourself, gave you a little enlightenment.

Some of the things he said I still practice today and I have passed on to friends who say it has helped them when a card that counts is put in their hand....

Never score a practice round. You will always compare a practice round to a playing round if you do and you can't because it is under different conditions. Scoring a practice round sends you to an early grave. Its practice, the score doesn't count so don't score it.

Never add your score up as you play, you add it up when you need to after each nine. Why put more pressure on yourself counting numbers in your head when the only number what counts is what you score on the hole you are playing and what yardage you've got to stiff one tight in?

Always shower praise on an opponent in matchplay even if they are playing badly, they either carry on playing badly or if playing well they get too ***** then and falter when it matters!

Smile before starting to swing, its impossible to be tight when you smile

Re: Who are the Handicap Managers & who are the genuine play

After two years of faffing about playing left handed, I had more surgery on my gammy finger and switched back to playing right handed. Just in time to get a handicap of 20.7 when I quit the GC. With the little fella now I don't get to play as much as I used to but when I do play I can play to handicap. I suspect if I got playing more regularly I could push that down to 17-18. I still have no short game to speak of right handed (which is why I don't think anything below 17/18 is achievable) so I carry a lefty 52 wedge, it's not as reliable as I would like but I'm miles better than if I had a right 52o and played the same shot. In the new set up I won't have a driver either so I won't be putting myself into all sorts of bother so hopefully I won't be so reliant on my sh*t short game. When I was a member of a decent club I played in every qualifier available from March to the end of Oct. I don't like playing in wet soft conditions, I spent 20 years doing that for rugby and GAA.

The opinions above, are the opinions of the author. they do not reflect reality in any way.Swing DNA: 89/3/4/5/6

Re: Who are the Handicap Managers & who are the genuine play

A few years back I was a 2. I played all the comps at my club, played a few open comps during the summer as well so knew I was in the right area.

Job changes and a lot of travel meant a change in my golf, and with lack of practice or bounce games my golf started to slide. Having gotten down to 7 at the lowest I slowly climbed back up. Add in a serious swing flaw from trying too hard and it just gets worse.

Currently not got an official handicap as I don't have playing membership since my accident. I'd say on a good day I can play to 24, but, I'm not worried by it at all. It's just good to get out and play golf for fun these days. That's sometimes something we forget, we're playing this for fun and enjoyment.

“Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an ever smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose”